Insurance smart home revolution hampered by people's cyber fears

More than three quarters of people are ‘fearful’ about their data when it comes to connected homes.

The cyber fears are revealed in a Moneysupermarket survey of 2,000 people, that found 76% fearful of their data being collected and misused in relation to the connected home.

Other concerns include being hacked by criminals (51%), the home being frozen by a virus (43%) and illegal recordings (41%).

Dan Plant, editor-in-chief at MoneySuperMarket, said: “Smart technology promises to transform our homes by enhancing security, improving energy efficiency and generally making our domestic lives smoother and more efficient.

“However, many people are understandably anxious that the benefits will be countered by threats, such as hacking and loss of privacy.”

The boost to insurers came when it emerged that 58% of people said they would still buy smart home devices if it saved them cash on their home insurance.